As Roger Federer had done 299 times before in grand slam matches, he won again. These days, as in his pomp, he nearly always wins – until the very end of the fortnight, when Novak Djokovic is inevitably waiting for him.

But the Swiss who is almost too good to be true was too good to be beaten over four sets by Grigor Dimitrov on day five of the Australian Open and, after a dip in the second set, eased into the fourth round in pursuit of his fifth title, hoping to draw alongside Djokovic while sitting just behind Roy Emerson.

Nobody is predicting that; but not many are entirely writing off his chances, either, even at 34, because the slippage in his tennis is indiscernible. Only Martina Navratilova, with 306, has won more matches in majors. That mark should fall at the French Open or Wimbledon. Meanwhile, Federer has this campaign to finish and he is looking good after his 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 win over Dimitrov.

Before leaving to rest up for his match against David Goffin on Sunday, he reflected briefly on reaching the landmark of 300 victories, and conceded that the early days of his long, garlanded career were not so decorous as they now appear to be.

“I made a lot of mistakes,” said the man whose admirers probably prefer to forget his racket-bashing, hair-dyed teenage years. “I wish I could have maybe been tougher when I was younger in practice but I guess that’s just how it needed to be. It needed to be genius or horrible. I needed to have that wide spectrum. I needed to make mistakes to become the player I am today.”

He made 55 mistakes on Friday but struck 13 aces and 48 winners. He still gambles (in the safest possible way) on his talent.

Goffin, meanwhile, is on his own roll. He famously took a set off Federer at Roland Garros when a fresh-faced kid four years ago and – still looking like a wide-eyed teenager – he has steadily improved and is seeded 15 here. He took care of business against another rising prospect, Dominic Thiem, but not without a fight, winning 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (7-2), 7-5.

Asked if the Belgian could finally get a win over Federer at the fourth attempt, Dimitrov, who knows him well (and was nursing a sore elbow afterwards), said: “Why not? I played quite a few times with him. He’s pretty talented. Whoever gets out there against whoever has a chance. You never know what’s going to happen on that day. It can be your time.”

If Federer is the epitome of calm and class, Nick Kyrgios, at 20, is stuck in a loud anxiety chamber of his own construction – which makes him eminently watchable.

On Friday evening, he was in head-shaking, shoulder-shrugging, racket-bashing, box-berating, umpire-baiting mood, turning in a virtuoso performance of combustible slapstick. It hit a high point when, a set and 5-4 down against Tomas Berdych, he complained to the umpire, Britain’s James Keothavong, that someone was playing music in the crowd.

“Are you OK?” he inquired of the official. “Mate, there is music playing in the crowd while we are playing! I’ve told you seven times! Why are you not telling him to turn it off?” Keothavong said he had already asked him if he wanted to stop while stewards investigated. “No you didn’t,” Kyrgios said, as he stormed off to resume playing a match that had turned decidedly sour for him. After getting little response when he asked the crowd if they could hear the music, he muttered: “This place is a circus.”

Indeed. And there was only one clown. It appears, incidentally, that the racket was coming from the Big Bash semi-final at the nearby MCG (with Kevin Pietersen steering the home side to victory).

Then, as the crescendo passed, Kyrgios turned up his own music, like the unpredictable entertainer he is, slapping the ball freely to all parts to win the third set at a canter. Berdych, who barely cracked a smile all night, held his nerve to win 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4. “Terrible refereeing,” was Kyrgios’s parting shot to Keothavong, another graceless exit, sadly.

Berdych next plays Roberto Bautista Agut, whose three-set win over the former US Open champion Marin Cilic, seeded 12, was a mild surprise more than a shock.

It has not been a vintage week for Djokovic. After confirming on Tuesday that he had rejected a $200,000 bribe to throw a match in Russia nine years ago, he was forced to deny match-fixing allegations by an Italian newspaper the following night. He was further surprised to see his first name misspelled “Novack” on the revolving advertising carousel that rings Rod Laver Arena, and then, because of a technical cock-up, his pre-filmed contribution to Lleyton Hewitt on his farewell evening did not make the cut alongside Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Kyrgios.

Roger Federer confident he can extend his run in the Australian Open

Read more

“I have no comment,” the Serb said. “I don’t know. I’ve done it but it wasn’t there.” But he did play well enough to beat Andreas Seppi in three sets, 6-1, 7-5, 7-6 (8-6), to book a fourth-round place against Gilles Simon, who had a far easier time of it against Federico Delbonis.